Independent Films, Film Profiles

The Other Boleyn Girl (2008 film)

The Other Boleyn Girl is a 2008 British drama film directed by Justin Chadwick. The screenplay by Peter Morgan was adapted from the 2001 novel of the same name by Philippa Gregory. It is a romanticized account of the lives of 16th-century aristocrats Mary Boleyn, one-time mistress of King Henry VIII, and her sister Anne, who became the monarch's ill-fated second wife.There are plans to film the sequel to the Phillipa Gregory's novel, The Boleyn Inheritance which tells the story of Anne of Cleeves, Katherine Howard and Jane Boleyn but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.When Catherine of Aragon fails to produce a male heir to the English throne, the Duke of Norfolk and his brother in law, Thomas Boleyn, scheme to install the latter's elder daughter Anne in the court of Henry VIII as the king's mistress and potential mother of his son, thereby furthering their own political ambitions much to the disgust of Thomas' wife and the duke's sister, Elizabeth Boleyn.With great reluctance, Mary and her husband William Carey agree to accept positions at the court, knowing full well what will be expected of her. William is then sent away on an assignment by the king. Separated from her spouse, Mary finds herself falling in love with Henry.Rebellious Anne secretly marries betrothed nobleman Henry Percy to impress her family and confides in her brother George. Thrilled, George tells Mary about the elopement. Despite her argument, the marriage is annulled and she is exiled to France in disgrace. Feeling that Mary betrayed her only to increase her own status, Anne vows revenge.When Mary nearly suffers a miscarriage, she is confined to bed for the remainder of her pregnancy, and Norfolk recalls Anne to England to keep Henry's attention from wandering to another rival, particularly Jane Seymour. Anne exacts this promise just after Mary gives birth to the much-anticipated son. Shortly after, Henry Mary from court. She returns home just as her husband, William, dies of the sweating sickness.The ambitious Anne encourages Henry to break from the Roman Catholic Church when Pope Clement VII refuses to annul his marriage to Catherine. Henry succumbs to Anne's demands, declares himself the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and divorces his wife. The scandal of Anne's brief, secret marriage to Henry Percy threatens her forthcoming marriage to the king until Mary, out of loyalty to her family, returns to court and lies on Anne's behalf, assuring Henry her union with Percy was not consummated.Despite the success of her plans, Anne's schemes drive Henry to his mental breaking point and he rapes her. Mary eventually meets William Stafford, a soldier, and the two fall in love and eventually marry.Despite the birth of a healthy daughter, Elizabeth, Henry is unhappy with Anne's failure to deliver a son and legitimate male heir to the throne. After she miscarries their second child, a boy, a now hysterical Anne asks George to impregnate her. Though he refuses and calms Anne back into reason, his neglected wife Jane witnesses enough of their encounter to become suspicious. Her testimony leads to the arrest, trial, and eventual execution of both George and Anne. Elsewhere, Elizabeth Boleyn denounces both her husband and brother, vowing she will never forgive them for what their greed has done to her children.Leaving her children in William's care, Mary returns to court to plead for her siblings' lives, but arrives too late to save George, who is executed in front of his horrified father. Mary begs Henry to spare her sister, referring to Anne as half of herself. The king softens and tells her he would never harm part of her. Believing that Henry has spared her sister, she leaves to see Anne right before the scheduled execution. The two sisters truly reconcile and embrace. Before she leaves for her execution, Anne makes Mary promise to take care of Elizabeth if anything should happen to her. Mary watches from the crowd as Anne makes a final statement. A letter from Henry is given to Mary, which reveals that he has decided not to intercede the execution and save Anne. It also tells Mary that she was only spared because of his respect for her and warns her never to come to court again, because her family's disgrace could result in danger to her. Horrified, she watches as Anne is beheaded. Mary then fulfills her last promise to her sister and leaves court with the toddler Elizabeth.The closing captions reveal that Thomas Boleyn, disgraced and alone, died two years after the deaths of Anne and George while Elizabeth Boleyn died a year after her husband. The Duke of Norfolk was later imprisoned while his son and grandson were both executed. True to her word, Elizabeth Boleyn never spoke to her husband or brother again. Mary returned to William and lived happily with him and her children from Henry away from court for the rest of her life. The captions also reveal that perhaps Henry should not have been concerned about leaving England with a strong heir because he, in fact, did. However, it was not the son he desired, but the strong red haired daughter Anne gave him, Elizabeth.